Remembrance
by Kittyistwix
Summary: Alex has returned to Shepherd's Glen with a dirty little secret he doesn't even remember.  Can he and Elle find Josh before it's to late?  Will Elle and Alex finally get together?  One can only hope
1. Of Love and War vets

I walked the streets of Shepherds Glen, the town was now desolate and lonely, and it wasn't like this before. It used to be full of life and friendly people, and now _this._ But today I'm extremely happy, because of the rumors. Rumors about my_ Alex_. The few remaining people in Shepherds Glen loved to gossip, this time it was about Alex returning from the army. I've missed him _so much._ Alex and I have been best friends since kindergarten, when we would sit at our desks and pass little love notes to one another. Those were fun times. I was a little mad when he left for the army so abruptly, but then he sent me that first letter.

_Elle, I'm sorry. I know you must hate me for running off like that. I just couldn't take the town any longer. I had to go. I miss you and Josh so much, will you tell him I said hey? I understand if you are angry. I'm angry at myself for leaving. I promise I'll write soon. Gotta go, talk to you later._

_With love,_

_Alex _

How could I be mad at him, I know how he feels. I should've left when I could. I wanted to write back, but what would I have told him? Hey, the towns horrible, Josh is missing and so are about 50 other children, and I never see the sun anymore, too much fog. I couldn't bring him down like that. Not when he's seeing people die and bombs go off every day.

It's summertime, though you couldn't tell. Alex's favorite time of year is summer. We used to have so much fun going down to the lake and camping out on the shores. By us I mean Alex, Josh, and I. I remember always going to the lake after my track meets. Alex played football on the field centered by the track field and I always used to take sneak peeks at him while I ran. My mom, being the mayor of Shepherds Glen, would scold me after each meet because she didn't approve of my fondness for Alex.

It seems like everyone is going missing now days, especially children like Josh that made this town so charismatic. He seemed like a brat when I first met him, but after I spent some time with him I grew to love him. Alex explained to me why he was so mean; he hated people to come into his life and take Alex away from him. He did the same thing to Alex's previous girlfriend, which made me feel better knowing he didn't hate me. Once when we went over to Alex's house, Josh told me 'I don't know why you even bother, you're stupid and hideous. Vicky is much cuter and is a straight A student.' Vicky was Alex's ex, and Josh loved to taunt me about her. My self esteem and confidence of our future relationship failed at that point… No matter what Josh said I never got mad at him. I understood that he was clingy towards his brother; I couldn't hold it against him. I sat him down and explained that Alex and I, despite what I wished, were just close friends. After that he didn't mind me too much, actually he didn't even notice me.

Everyone in Shepherds Glen loved Alex's family, get it? _Shepherds Glen_. His great grandfather founded the town alongside many others like my family and Dr. Fitch's. It's weird how the towns' founding fathers great, great, great grandson and granddaughters are best friends; Alex, Scarlet, and I. I wouldn't say that Scarlet and I were friends but I tolerated her because she was so young, I now feel pity for her. Why? My little sister, Nora, was missing, Alex's little brother was missing, and Dr. Finch's daughter Scarlet was presumably dead. Poor little Scarlet. I recognize a pattern; maybe Shepherds glen has a serial killer. But why would they only be killing the second-born in the family? So many missing children, so little willingness to find them…

I finally reached the Shepherd's home. I knocked on the door and silently waited. When no one answered, I opened the door, it wasn't locked. They had always said that I was welcome in their home anyway. "Hello, is anyone here? Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Shepherd?" I walked into the family den, and saw Lillian sitting in her rocking chair, facing the window.

"Is that you, Elle?" She asked

"Yes. Mrs. Shepherd, are you okay?"

"Its good you're here. I wanted to hear another person's voice. Adam is out looking for Josh. He's been gone for 3 days now." She said meekly. She looks sick, and depressed. Her skin had turned several shades paler, her hair had strands of grey, and there are dark circles under her eyes. Her clothes were dirty and smelled of mold.

"What?" I asked her, not quite shocked just attempting politeness. She shifted her glazed over eyes towards me.

"I just miss Josh so much." She replied with a distant voice.

"Alex is coming home Mrs. Shepherd." I told her to lighten the mood.

"I don't believe it. You should go to the towns' gates and wait. I don't feel like dealing with his stupidity right now. Bring him to me later, when Adam returns hopefully. Also could you take this to your mother for me? Don't you peek at it you hear?" She held out a sealed envelope. I took the envelope from her shaking hands.

"Of course I'll take it to her Mrs. Shepherd. I will tell Alex you need him here, goodbye mam'." I hugged her; she looked like she needed it.

"I appreciate it Elle, such a sweet girl." I thanked her and left the house. I immediately regretted accepting the task, mom wasn't a fan of me at the moment; she thought of me as a threat to her towns future, as if there is one, and that ever since I was born I've given her nothing but trouble. I decided to go to the gate first; I wanted to see Alex desperately now, the four years he has been gone have been too long.

I walked the lonely side walk and thought about how it used to be; people driving down the streets, kids laughing and playing on the sidewalk and shops filled with happy people getting haircuts, buying groceries, and going to Dr. Finch's office for medical advice. Now the only life you see is people locked indoors and the plant roots that scatter the road.

I was about to lose the hope of seeing Alex; I had been waiting for an hour now. But then I saw a figure emerge from the haze. It had thick short brown hair and a muscular build. I knew it was him immediately. "Alex!" I said as I waved eagerly. He ran towards me. When he realized who I was he outstretched his arms and gave me a huge hug.

"Oh my god, forgive me Elle! I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry for running off like that." He said quietly, still not letting me free from his iron grasp.

"I've missed you too Alex, its ok I'm not mad. I'm just glad your home." I replied still hanging on to him.

"Your freezing," he handed me his jacket, "what's happened here? It's like a ghost town."

"I don't know Alex, nothings been right since you left," I said sadly "everyone's going missing, including your brother. I'm so sorry Alex, I wanted to write you but your dad said it would be best not to just in case something happened." Alex looked at me strangely

"That's why I'm here; I started having these dreams, more like nightmares, that Joshua was in danger. I came back here to check on him, just to make sure he is ok. I see now that I've done the right thing." He said. I was somewhat sad when I learned he didn't come back for me. He let go of me and took my hand "I'm going to the Town Hall to see Judge Holloway. Come with?" he asked.

"Sure, I need to give mom something anyway." I replied, blushing because he was holding my hand.

"Great, how has your boyfriend been?" He seemed concerned. "He hasn't hurt you again has he?" A worried expression crossed his face. My old boyfriend was extremely dangerous, and Alex had always told me I could do better.

"He left." I replied sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I miss him, but I've moved on. I have to face the fact that I don't need him anymore." I smiled at him.

We were approaching the Town Hall; we raced up to the large double doors like we used to do when we were little. I won, of course; I was always faster than him. "Ha! Beat ya!" I enjoyed boasting about racing. Even though my lungs screeched from the exercise, we laughed like 5 year olds. God I missed this. It was time to get serious though, Josh was missing and I had a secret message to deliver. He held the door for me and walked next to me while we found mothers office.

The town hall was a complex structure with several confusing corridors and hundreds of unnamed offices. It seemed like hours before we found the right door. "Here it is." I pointed to a large wood door with Holloway printed on it. Alex opened the door first and went in.

"Judge Holloway?" He asked.

"Alex, what a pleasant surprise!" she said. I walked in and all I got was a "Hello, Elle." I handed her the envelope and said

"It's from Mrs. Shepherd. She wanted me to it to you." She took the envelope from my hand

"Tell her I said thank you." She replied with a newfound curiosity. I went and sat down in an empty chair. "Now Alex, what have you came to see me for?" she asked flirtatiously. '_Oh grow up you old bitch he's way to young for you'_ I thought to myself.

"I need some info about my little brother." Alex said.

"I can't tell you anything you probably don't already know, Alex, he is missing. He went missing a year ago. We've given up Alex. I'm sorry. We have hundreds of others missing. Not just your brother." She shook her head while she said this. I pictured the town's bulletin board with pictures I had put up of missing folks'.

"Well how about the town, what's happened here?" Alex asked, fuming.

"I have somewhere to be. I'm sure you can find your way out, goodbye Alex and good luck finding what you're looking for." She exited the room quickly. Alex came over to where I was sitting and said,

"She's hiding something."

"I agree, Alex, she looked worried. Let's go before she comes back." I stood up and we found our way to the main auditorium. "Alex, I think you should visit your mother. There's something off about this whole thing, and she might know something. Plus she needs to see you; I think it will be good for her. She's not doing well, she needs you." I breathed.

"What's wrong with her?" He said a little shaky.

"Well…you should just see for yourself, come on." I tugged on his arm and we left the building. "I'll race ya there!" I said and started running

"No fair!" He shouted after me. "We both know you will beat me anyway."

"Yeah, you're right; you're the one who ran track." He was already running next to me. We reached his house, and I won, as to be expected. "The coach would be disgraced." I said out of breath. He laughed and said,

"Yea, wipe the sweat off your face and let's go in." He pushed the door open. I could've sworn I had locked it. "Mom its Alex and Elle, are you here?" We got no answer but I heard the silent sound of her rocking chair scraping against the wood floor. We walked into the den and Alex went up to his mom "Hey mom, are you ok?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw something sitting in her lap; a revolver.

"Uh, Alex, there's something in her lap." I whispered to him and pointed.

"Alex, it's been so long. I've missed you so much." His mom said in a feeble tone.

"I've missed you too mom," he looked at her lap and grabbed the revolver from her grip, "mom what are you doing with this?" He sounded worried and concerned.

"Alex, I miss your brother _so_ much, your father has gone to look for him, now he's missing. It feels as if this town is slowly fading away. Understand Alex, I can barley take it." She said in a stressed tone.

"No, mom, I can't understand, this is ridiculous. You need help mom. Don't worry we'll find Josh and Dad." He said pleadingly.

"Alex, promise me you'll find Joshua. He's all I have now, your father is hardly around anymore and you won't stay after we find him."

"I promise, and so does Elle. Right?" he looked at me.

"Yes Mrs. Shepherd I promise to help find Josh at all costs." Alex and I nodded in agreement.

"Such a good girl, Elle, you have always been. I appreciate your willingness to help me find my little Joshua, and I'm sure you won't mind my Alex accompanying you either." She stared off into the distance and let out small sobbing sounds.

"No, I don't. Alex and I have been friends for 18 years now, you remember don't you?" I asked her sweetly.

"Yes, I do. I'm so glad he has friends like you dear." Her face turned a little pinker when she spoke of me. She had dreamed of Alex marrying me; because my family was well liked and a good influence throughout the town. It was Judge Holloway's dream for her daughter to be the Judge after she died, by her daughter I mean my sister. When I was 7 I asked my her if I could be Judge when he died, she said 'Are you stupid? You can't run a town, that's why I have her.' she was always so damn proud of her…Lillian looked at me "Well? Are you going now?"

"I'm gonna go upstairs to my old room to see if Josh left something telling us where he's gone, mom are you gonna be alright?" Alex asked her, concerned.

"Yes, be careful. Josh left it a mess before he left, and I just don't want to remove anything. Just in case he comes back, I do hope he does." We looked at her doubtfully and left her in her near catatonic state; to look upstairs.

The stairs were stained with time and the creaked rather loudly. "Alex, there is something off about this. All of the town's children have gone missing. Your mother is on the verge of going clinically insane. Mother's being a secretive bitch. And the towns practically empty, only a few people remain; I'm scared Alex." I spoke in a hurried whisper so only he could hear it.

"Don't be, it's going to be alright. But something weird is happening. When did this start?" he asked.

"Right after you left, first the town was covered in this fog, and then the children started to disappear. We haven't found a single one either." I stated after we entered Alex's and Josh's old room. The window on the back wall gave a great glimpse into the back yard. The walls of the room were green and a bunk-bed was centered beside the left wall. Toys were scattered all over the room, and school books littered a small writing desk, the words _Scarlet and Josh_ were carved neatly into the leg of the desk. "Scarlet and Josh liked each other?" I asked Alex,

"No, but Josh was crazy for her." Alex aid as he picked up a clip on flashlight from the bottom bunk of the bed. "I remember this, I gave to Josh when he had nightmares; I told him to turn it on if he got scared." Alex smiled at the thought of his brother, and then pinned the flashlight to his army jacket; which I gave back to him when we entered the house.

"That was nice of you." I said trying to make small talk. He smiled and walked over to the bookcase in the right wall, being as obsessive compulsive as I am; I alphabetized the books. All of the sudden the book case sprung out and light was seen pouring out of a hidden room behind the case. Alex stood to the right of the case and pushed it. The little room behind it was like a closet. A little remote poked out of a corner. I bent over and picked it up. "It looks like a garage remote. I don't know why, but I think it may be useful later." Alex took it out of my hand and put it into his pocket.

"Possibly, but I doubt it." He said. I turned my head in time to hear a crashing sound come from the basement.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Alex.

"Yea, let's go see what it is…" he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs. Before we could go down the basement stairs, Lillian looked up from her chair and said

"It's flooded down there. And there is something down there." Alex picked up a crowbar located next to a power box and slung it upward in a defensive position. I walked down first, much to the dislike of Alex, and was disturbed by the large amount of water flooding the basement floor. I heard something move in the water, and all of the sudden a huge creature popped out of nowhere. It had a slit on his forehead and teeth were scattered in rows inside the slit. Its skin was moldy and rotten. And its legs were bided together with dead skin. I screamed and Alex pushed me behind him. He took the crowbar and flung it at the thing. We heard a growl from the creature as it died. Blood spewed everywhere hitting me in the hair and shirt.

"What the hell was that thing?" Alex asked and helped me up; I had fallen when he pushed me.

"I don't know Alex. I need to go home. I got blood all over myself." Alex walked with me to the fence that separated our yards, and helped me over.

"I'll sit on the porch stairs and wait…just in case something happens." he said, still a little shaky, and not wanting to be alone.

"Okay." I unlocked my front door and entered the kitchen. I ran upstairs and took a hot shower. I raped a towel around me as I picked out a new outfit, I would need something comfortable if I was to be running around town all day. I settled with a pair of well fitting jean shorts and a comfortable sleeveless black sweeter dress that was small enough to be shirt and exposed only the bottom of the very short shorts. Who said I couldn't look good while helping Alex? In fact that's the only reason I was making a good image of myself; I was going to be with Alex for the next days. Alex would hopefully notice how good I look, he doesn't have to say anything; just look. I put on mascara and left through the back door. I needed time to think before I saw Alex; this was a small detour. It was chilly outside, I should've brought a jacket but then again, I hoped Alex would offer his.

I saw Alex on the steps, and I led him to the garage. I couldn't help but notice how his eyes bugged out of his head when he looked me over. Good reaction. "We should drive through the town before we search by foot. There might be more….monsters….out there." I said. Alex agreed and I gave him the keys. We set off on a seemingly easy mission. We were wrong.

Hoped you enjoyed! Next chapter comes out soon! Review, it would help.


	2. Thrown to the dogs

The radio in my Kia played only static as we rode through the desolate town. I had hooked up my Ipod to my stereo because the sound irked Alex to the point at which he started to yell at me. He said that in his dreams he had heard the same sound. Lady Gaga was bursting through my car when Alex looked at me through the mirror. "Why'd you dye your hair?" He asked randomly. Yuck, small talk. He was referring to the fact that my hair had been blonde when he had left for the army, truth of the matter was that I hadn't dyed it. It had naturally grown like that over the four years he had been gone. Maybe it was from my stress or the fact I could've take after my father, who had a lovely mane of brown hair.

"Being a brunette suits me, doesn't it?" I asked, he agreed. "Well then, stop complaining." He smiled and switched the song.

I kept my eyes on our surroundings. Even though I knew Josh wouldn't be found this way, I didn't want to travel on foot just yet. We were both still somewhat shaken up by the creature that had recently attacked us. I was still daydreaming when Alex slammed on the brakes and swerved across the road. I stared at him wide eyed as if he were a mental patient. "Why in gods name did you do that Alex?" He looked at me with disbelieving eyes.

"The road…it's _gone_." He said dumfounded.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He got out of the car and motioned for me to do the same. I didn't believe him, but I still followed him. I got out of the car and pulled Alex's moms revolver out from under my seat. I walked over to him and he placed his hand on my shoulder. He shoved me up to a crack in the road. "Oh my god," I said as I looked at it more closely. The road had turned into a cliff! "You were serious? Where's the fucking road?"

"I don't know Elle. Hand me a rock." He commanded. I bent over and found a rock of good size and handed it to him. He threw it over the edge.

"Why'd you do tha-"He had cut me off.

"Hush, listen." I did as said and we didn't speak for a matter of minutes. Finally, Alex looked at me and asked, "Did you hear it hit the ground?"

"No, Alex this is starting to freak me out." I sat on the hood of my car and put my knees to my chest. He looked around for a minute and then abruptly pulled me off the car.

"There's a chain fence here. Where do you think we are?"

"The junkyard maybe, does it really matter?" He responded by shaking his head and leading me by the hand through the gate.

"Is Curtis still around?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, that's our next stop; we need to pay him a visit. Maybe he knows what's happening." He removed his hand from mine and we continued walking towards the small building in the center of the yard. I handed him the gun and in turn pulled out the kitchen knife, which I had picked up when I had left my house earlier, from my belt loop. I didn't want to fight, but I would if another one of those things showed up.

It didn't take us to long to figure out that we were lost. "Alex that is the tenth time I've seen that car. In fact, if I see it one more time, I will _HURT _you. Do you even see the building anymore?" I said as I grabbed the flashlight from him.

"Chill out Elle, getting mad at me isn't going to help anything." He said. I said sorry and we continued our walk. After about 5 minutes we had found a path that led straight through the junkyard. I heard a faint growl coming from the distance. Alex had put his hand in front of me to tell me to stop. "You hear that?" I nodded and turned the flashlight towards the noise. I saw movement in the corner of my eye and turned to face it. A large animal was running towards us. It was bloody and had very large teeth; its claws were protruding from its paws. Out of terror, I dropped the flash light and fell to the ground when I felt the creatures wait press against me. My head hit the ground with a loud thud, and I felt a immense pain shoot through my body. I wanted to scream for Alex, but I couldn't find the words. My hand had gone up defensively and shielded the creatures' bites from my face. I heard three gun shots fire before I felt the enraged animal finally fall slack and stop fighting. "Elle, are you okay?" I heard Alex shout as he propped my head up. My fingers danced to the back of my head and I felt something moist. Water? No; its blood. Not good. My vision started to blur and I blacked out within moments of victory.

Okay, I know this chapter was short, but I figured if I write them short; I can write more. New chapter soon!


	3. What to do when you're alone

**Alex's POV**

I watched her sleep, and was worried out of my mind. I kept my hand on her wrist to ensure that she still had a pulse, and I held her head in my lap so it didn't hit the floor. She was still bleeding, but it wasn't too serious, I needed to get her out of this place and into a hospital. I had carried her into Curtis's office, and was greeted with a gruesome sight. Across from us starred a mauled man with dried blood caked across his body, it looked like something had ripped him apart. Obviously, those dogs outside had gotten to poor Curtis.

Despite the disgustingness of the room, I had to get Elle inside. It had begun to rain. I placed the unconscious Elle into a chair, and pulled Curtis's body off of the floor and threw him outside. I flung the heavy doors closed and locked them. I made sure that the dogs couldn't get in, and examined the room. On the desk there was a police radio and a revolver exactly like mine. I turned on the radio and emptied the gun of its bullets and put them into mine (remainder going into my pocket), I had about 5 shots I could fire without reloading. With a little more digging, I came across a small lounge. It had two vending machines, a small room with a toilet and sink, a small TV, a clock, and a twin mattress with a dirty pillow. "Good enough..." I thought out loud. The clock read 2:06, but I knew it was at least 10:00 p.m.

I picked Elle up and saw her eyes flutter, but my hope was crushed when she fell limp again. Her breathing was steady, and I was praying it would stay that way. I gently laid her down on the bed. I had read somewhere that concussion victims needed cold compresses on their heads, so I grabbed a cloth and soaked it in cool water from the sink. I placed the rag on her head and closed the lounges' door, locking it for safety. I heard a muffled sob coming from the corner of the room. I looked over and saw that Elle was crying. Kneeling next to her bed, I asked her, "Elle, honey, what's wrong? How are you feeling?"

"Alex, I'm freezing," She said between sobs, "I'm so tired, it hurts." My heart broke when I heard her cry. I draped my jacket over her and held on to her hand.

"I know, I know, go back to sleep. You need to rest. Please, Elle, stop crying." She didn't let go of my hand until she cried herself to sleep. I turned the rooms' lights off and curled up on the floor next to her bed. My sleep was interrupted every ten minutes when I woke up to check on my sleeping beauty.

When I rose in the morning, I had no idea what time it was. I assumed it was morning because a gray light was peeking through the bathrooms' sloppily boarded window. After using the restroom and splashing water over my face, I was feeling kinda hungry, so I broke the glass of the vending machine and grabbed a couple of snacks. Then, after I ate my makeshift breakfast, I turned on the TV. When I got nothing but white noise, I flipped the switch and turned on the police radio. I scanned each channel wanting to hear someone's voice; it was too quiet. My search sadly failed.

_Wake up Elle…please? I miss your voice… _I thought as I starred at her. I was happy to see that the bruises on her body had lightened up, and I had already stopped the bleeding yesterday. Even though the blood had stopped flowing, it had dried all over her delicate face and was in her hair. I went outside of the lounge and found a bucket and a rag, I filled the bucket with warm water and strawberry scented soap I found in the bathroom. I proceeded to wet the rag and clean her face, and then I massaged her scalp with the soap. She was such a heavy sleeper that I actually was able to rinse it without waking her. I used the pillow case to dry off her hair so I could address each wound she had endured. I'm glad I brought my medical supplies with me when I grabbed my backpack at home. I applied rubbing alcohol and Neosporin to each wound and made sure each wound that wasn't on her face had its own Band-Aid. I felt the back of her head to see why she was bleeding back there and found a large scrape, it was handled with the same care as the other cuts. I pulled up her shirt and my fingers assessed her abdomen and found that one of her ribs had been chipped, and I used gauze to wrap her stomach. She chose then to wake up. "Alex, what are you doing?" She asked in a broken whisper. I jumped from my spot and threw my hands up apologetically.

"Oh, god no, I know what it looks like, but let me explain! You were cut up pretty badly and I just wanted to make sure you didn't break a rib or have…you know…internal bleeding. I wouldn't do anything like that to you! Believe me, please!" I truthfully told her. When I realized what I had said, and why she was looking at me with a hint of anger, I said "No, wait! I mean you're really pretty and all, but I wouldn't do anything without your permission! I'm just gonna shut up now." She gave a sad attempt at laughter; it hurt her so much that she let out a choked sob before trying to get out of the bed. She managed to stand up, but shortly after, she almost fell. Luckily I caught her and steadied her. She threw her arm over my shoulder and I helped her get used to walking. I gave her some meds to help with the pain. She tried eating, but she just threw everything up. "Curtis is dead, we have to leave soon. I don't want to risk staying here any longer. I need to find Josh." I said as I held her hair back while she vomited. When she composed herself and washed her mouth out, she spoke,

"I know we need to go now. Thank you so much for everything. I feel much better now that I took some aspirin. Come on." She waited for me to gather my equipment and check to see if anymore monsters were lurking. I handed her my backpack after assuring that she could carry it, and we walked back to the car. I kept my revolver in my hands and I pinned my flashlight to my shirt (Elle still had my jacket). She had gotten out her kitchen knife and kept the blade at ready. Already I could tell that I'd have to go through hell to find my brother.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review, or else zombie dogs will attack you! (JK) **


	4. Chapter 4 Elles dream

_Yet another warm afternoon in the once deserted town of Shepherds Glen. Since the fog had cleared many years ago, the town had returned to its lively state. Once again you could hear the pleasant sound of children playing on the playground as engines of cars sprung to life in the parking lots. Not many of the towns people had witnessed the tragedy that had took place not but 10 years ago. Elle Holloway and Alex Shepherd are the only survivors. After they saved the town, both had helped to rebuild the city and found themselves married to different people. Both felt sadness as they sat together on the parks bench. _

_Elle's little girl and Alex's son chased each other throughout the area; laughing and teasing. It reminded both parents of how they used to be when they were young. Alex was the first to break the awkward silence. He lifted his head and looked at her. She was hiding her head in her palms when he said, _

"_Elle, how are you? I haven't seen you in forever. I missed you." He said with a twinge of pain; from remembering their lost time. Elle sat up and looked at him with weary eyes. She let out a half hearted laugh and spoke bitterly, _

"_Have you now? I'm sure your…wife might not like to hear you say that. How is she anyways? I heard that you two threw Andy's birthday party last week. My daughter was heartbroken when she didn't receive an invite. Our children shouldn't pay for our feud, Alex, it's not right. Do you regret it, no, us?" Tension filled the air as Alex resisted the childlike urge to stick his tongue out at her. _

"_Oh don't start! This is your own damn fault! What was I supposed to do? You rejected me every time I would show my love to you, should I have stuck by you until you finally said yes? Excuse me for not wanting to put up with that every day of my life. Don't think that I didn't love you Elle, but you made your decision. I don't need you anymore, the only thing I regret is that I was so stupid to worship you the way I did." He pulled from his seat and laughed as Elle began to cry. "You're pathetic, I hate you." He walked out of sight and time seemed to stop._

_Thick fog surrounded her and everyone around her stopped dead in their tracks. Their bodies altered into ash and the remains fell to the ground. She got up from her seat with tears still trailing down her face and neck. The very ground she stood on turned to metal grating and the sound of metal scraping metal filled her ears. She dropped to her knees and shook her head violently. "No!" she screamed. The last thing she felt was a sharp object being thrust upon her head as Alex roared with laughter in the background. \_

"_She gets what she deserves." He said as he disappeared into the mist. _

I snapped out of my dream and felt immense pain. I looked for Alex and was so relieved to find him sleeping beside my bed. Despite the fact that my arm hurt like hell, I reached over and touched his face to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Thank god I wasn't. I smiled down at him and thought of how horrible it felt to be hated by him. I won't make the mistake foretold in my dream. Realization dawned on me as I whispered "I love you." Shortly after I got used to the three words, rehearsing them over and over until my mouth was numb, I fell asleep once more. As I lulled off, I could've sworn that I heard Alex whisper, "I love you, too."


End file.
